Meade ETX-90EC

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Meade ETX-90EC
Fine opics, but in my opinion, this scope is too toy-like in its mechanical attributes to travel well. I would trade for a 80mm refractor, like the Orion 80 on a simple mount.

Overall Rating: 7
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Link to this vote: http://www.excelsis.com/1.0/displayvote.php?voteid=37360

Meade ETX-90EC
this telescope has proven to be disappointing to myself and everyone that I talked to that purchased one. It just doesnt have enough aperture for good viewing.

Overall Rating: 3
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Meade ETX-90EC
Compaired ETX with Televue pronto 70mm refractor. And on a scale of 1 to 10 i would give the ETX 1 and the Televue pronto 10.

Focussed on the same object with the same eye piece. I could see 16 stars in the feild of vue with the EXT, Pointing on the same thing with the Pronto i could see so many stars that i could not count them. If you want the best bit of advice go for the pronto, the difference is night and day

Overall Rating: No Vote
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Meade ETX-90EC
optics are a 9 but mechanics are a 5 at best so you can't appreciate the optics, save your money and get a small refractor if you want a small package.

Overall Rating: 7
Weight: 1 (Unreliable Vote)
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Meade ETX-90EC
The Meade ETX is a winner to me. After almost 40 years of scopes I find the ETX Meade ETX a marvel! I love to go to star parties and look through scopes costing ten times as much and then come back to the ETX. It blows a lot of them away in terms of contrast and definition. The portability is just what I need most of the time. I can set it up and take it down in less than 5 minutes tops. The mount with the Meade Delux Field Tripod I find works very well and provides good stability. I had a bearing problem in the declination axis but Meade sent me a replacement at no cost and out of warranty. The best part is the pinpoint images of stars that I have yet to see any other scope surpass.

Overall Rating: 9
Weight: 1 (Unreliable Vote)
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Link to this vote: http://www.excelsis.com/1.0/displayvote.php?voteid=37366

Meade ETX-90EC
Excellent scope for the money. Pinpoint star images, good contrast, very portable. So far I've seen 94 of the Messier objects with it (although some just barely; still working on the final 16) from a variety of sites. But don't expect the impossible from it; remember it's only 90mm. Plan on replacing the finder with something better (an LED one works well), and don't be surprised if the clock drive suddenly stops working. A field tripod is a must; the scope is too difficult to use without it.

Overall Rating: 9
Weight: 1 (Unreliable Vote)
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Link to this vote: http://www.excelsis.com/1.0/displayvote.php?voteid=37367

Meade ETX-90EC
Optically, there is simply nothing else in this price range that even compares. The ETX 90/EC has absolutely beautiful clarity on everything I have viewed. The gears seem to have a bit to much play, causing a delay, and a great amount of variance when initially selecting any slewing direction. I frequently see comments about the mount being poor, but for $600 I am quite pleased with it. I do however agree that the 8x21 finderscope has critical flaws, not the least of which is the complete inability to use it when pointing anywhere near the zenith.

Overall, I am quite pleased with the scope. I would strongly recommend it to anyway wishing to purchase a portable, quality scope in it's price range.

Overall Rating: 9
Weight: 1 (Unreliable Vote)
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Link to this vote: http://www.excelsis.com/1.0/displayvote.php?voteid=38973

Meade ETX-90EC
Good optic - Excellent Autostar - Poor mount...

Overall Rating: 7
Weight: 1 (Unreliable Vote)
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Link to this vote: http://www.excelsis.com/1.0/displayvote.php?voteid=38974

Meade ETX-90EC
Be careful when you read some of these reviews, as some can be very misleading. For example, the review above that compares the 90mm ETX with the 70mm f/6.8 Pronto reads, "Focussed on the same object with the same eyepiece. I could see 16 stars in the field of view with the ETX. Pointing on the same thing with the Pronto i could see so many stars that i could not count them."

Of course you could! Your field of view in the Pronto with that same eyepiece is over two and a half times bigger in diameter (6.8x bigger in area) than in the ETX! This is not a problem with the ETX, it's a direct result of the fact that the ETX and Pronto have different focal lengths (1250mm vs. 476mm). To do an accurate comparison you would have to use an eyepiece in the Pronto that gave the SAME field of view as the one used in the ETX. For example, if you were using a 26mm Plossl in the ETX, you'd have to use a 9.7mm Plossl in the Pronto to get the same field of view to compare the star count with the ETX. The Pronto will show wider fields of view with a given eyepiece because it has a shorter focal length than the ETX, but it will NOT show dimmer stars than the ETX. And while the longer focal length in the ETX is a relative disadvantage in getting bigger fields of view, it's an advantage in getting higher magnifications, which can be useful in looking at the planets or the moon, for example.

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Meade ETX-90EC
Excellent optics. Very Good (for the price) GoTo. Poor mount that has to have some patches to bring it up to Fair otherwise it jiggles too much. Add a reflex finder and ignore the one that's on it. In the city it can tempt you with lots of M objects and the planets. At a dark sky site the deep sky stuff is much better. I've gotten good photos of the lunar eclipse with prime focus.

Overall Rating: 8
Weight: 1 (Unreliable Vote)
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Meade ETX-90EC
OTA is outstanding optically, with some focus/image shift. Mount is a vibrating disaster; I use mine "unplugged" like a baby dob on a Gitzo photo tripod, and the images are unbelievable! Quick set up and break down. Brightness is fine with a Meade 24.5mm SWA eyepiece (exit pupil 1.77mm). Strolls through high magnifications if the object is bright enough. Computer schmuter, just learn the sky. Optic: 9; Drive: 7; Mount: 4; Satisfaction: 8. Good effort Meade.

Overall Rating: 8
Weight: 1 (Unreliable Vote)
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Link to this vote: http://www.excelsis.com/1.0/displayvote.php?voteid=38976

Meade ETX-90EC
AS my first scope the ETX-90EC has met all my expectations, even exceeded them in some cases. I love the portability, the optical quality and in general its ease of use. I just got it so I am still tooling around with it, but the more I use it the more I like it! I mounted it on a heavy duty Monfrotto tripod and it is proving to be more than stable enough for me. I added the Autostar Computer Controller and got to use if for the first time last nite....WOW is all I can say about it....it has made my first scope all the more interesting and usuable. I chose the ETX because I was willing to trade aperature for better optical quality. I wanted something easy to use and portable. I wanted the advatages of a motor drive and computer controller to help me along my way(I still have my binoculars and am learning the nite sky with them too). It is a great little scope for me and I am looking forward to getting lots of use out of it!(saw Saturn the other nite and my jaw was on the ground :)!) All in all for me a great scope.
V.M., Canada

Overall Rating: 8
Weight: 1 (Unreliable Vote)
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Link to this vote: http://www.excelsis.com/1.0/displayvote.php?voteid=38977

Meade ETX-90EC
wonderful optics; great portability which is a main reason for my purchase. Have not experienced problems with the mount. Would highly recommend this 'scope to anyone.

Overall Rating: 9
Weight: 1 (Unreliable Vote)
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Link to this vote: http://www.excelsis.com/1.0/displayvote.php?voteid=38978

Meade ETX-90EC
Good Optics. Cheesy mount. Yada yada yada... see above.

But here are the real issues:

The scope is barely useable out of the box. Why? Forget setting the scope on a table top, a concept Meade promotes on the box and their advertising. You just can't get a decent position to look throught the scope this way. So you need a tripod. Forget the little legs that screw on. They're cute, but you still will not be able to get a comfortable view on a normal table or the hood of your car. Out of the box, the scope needs polar alignment to track. Polar aligning requiers a tripod (or the little screw on legs) with Altitude controlability. The finder is too small, and cannot be looked through if the scope is sitting on a table or if the scope is pointed near the zenith if in Altitude Azimuth Position, or near the Pole if Polar aligned. Also, the focus knob is out of reach in the same positions. Soo, Meade ends up nickle and diming you to death; you need a tripod, a right angle finder, and either "Flexifocus" by Scopetronix (I have one of these. Works nicely.), or and electric focuser (The real answer). Out of the box, the ETX is not a "Complete Observing Package" as the box and National Geographic adds would lead neophytes to beleive.

If you're new to astronomy, you will likely want to learn to star-hop. This is extremely tedious and difficult with the ETX. While you can grab the optical tube and point it where you want, it's clunky, and not at all like usisng a decent Dobsonian or Equatorially mounted scope. Starhopping with the handbox is possible, but it'll take a lot of patience; you can't quickly backtrack the scope to re-gain lost bearings. Most star-hopping really requires a serviceable finder. The 8 X 25 does not fall into this category because it's field of view is small and the limiting magnitude is a little too low. These star-hopping issues are renedered irrelevant if you decide to use Autostar. (Be sure to learn to star-hop though, otherwise you'll be lost if your batteries die or someone asks you to find something on their non-computerized scope.)

Autostar... The really cool thing about Autostar is that it allows you to track objects at Sidereel rate in Altitude Azimuth position (Something the scope really should do out of the box...) This is nice, because you can use a simpler tripod; the tripod does not need altitude and azimuth controls. This usually allows the tripod significant increased stability for the price; I use a Bogen camera tripod with a scopetronix adapter. There is little reason to polar align anyway; it does track better, but is time consuming and bug-prone. Unless you are going to try astrophotography (which is VERY VERY limiting with the ETX) there is no reason to polar align. (If you have Autostar). Overall, Autostar is the saving grace for the ETX; the scope seems to be designed around it and it really is fun, albeit limiting due to the small apeture of the scope.

If you're a beginner, get a dob for less money. It'll take you further in astronomy than the ETX can... Unless you really don't have a 2' X 2' x 4.5' cube of space for storage of a smallish dob and do not have access to local darkish skies or suitable transport (Most smaller dobs fit easily in a car, unless more than one other person will be riding with you.) The ETX really is not a great first scope because it violates the tenements of first scopes; ease of use, STABILITY, and affordability. Yes, the scope is easy to use if you have Autostar. But you still can't just whip the scope around wherever you want quickly, intuitively and easily, and this inhibits the learning of celestial navigation. Yes, it's fairly cheap. But not after you get killed by all the stuff you have to add to get the scope truely serviceable. No one will even attempt to deny that the mount is wiggly; that's the real reason there are no batteryless manual controls. The scope really is not inteneded to be touched! And, in the $600 range (Much less than the ETX by the time you add all the necessary additions) a 6-8" dob is a much more serviceable starter scope and DOES meet the starter scope tenements. (Interestingly, most of the dealers I've gotten to confide in me with either will not attempt to sell an ETX to a newby, or at least feel guilty about it if they do. Usually, though, it's not necessary to push the ETX. People really want one when they want one at all. They are usually sold to impulse buyers, myself included.)

If you're seasoned, only get an ETX cuz it's cute or cuz you gotta have a cheap go to scope that'll only show you a tiny tiny smidge of the huge object library. They're OK scopes if your stuck with it (I.E. not willing to sell at a loss)like I am.

In the end, I like my ETX 90 for backyard quick observing sessions on nights when I don't want to lug around a larger scope, especially if I'm feeling too lazy to star-hop. The ETX is fun this way. But, it is limiting, especially for the cost (including the necessary tripod, finder scope, and focus-knob fix and Autostar).

Overall Rating: 7
Weight: 1 (Unreliable Vote)
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Link to this vote: http://www.excelsis.com/1.0/displayvote.php?voteid=38979

Meade ETX-90EC
I bought this for my 14-year old son who is somewhat into astronomy from books. He likes it just fine. I liked the price for what we got. We have the Autostar Controller. My son doesn't like to use it, instead preferring to go to stars that he just happens to spot. I try to use it but it drives me crazy. I know it's useable, I just have to have the time (that's the big thing I don't have) to learn to use it after aligning the telescope properly. It has definitely made my son's attitude more excited about astromony, being finally able to see some of the objects he has only been able to read about. I didn't mind buying the extra stuff: the tripod, the hard-shell carrying case, the Barlow lens. We even got a filter for sunspots from another manufacturer and that got everyone in the family excited. I was just amazed myself looking at the moon, so was my son, seeing all the craters up close and personal. So being a novice to telescopes, after buying a couple of cheapies, I was attracted to this one by the price and the qualities. The AutoStar was a big selling factor for me. Not so much for my son. It's affordable and has really helped keep my son's interest up in astronomy (plus mine too.) We've looked thru the large telescopes that observatories and people more experienced in astronomy and telescopes use. For me, they're too big, take too much to put up and take down. And while they have a longer range and able to see more objects, I find that this ETX90/EC is more portable and hence we are able to take it more places without a big bunch of hassle. I haven't experienced any problems with the mount that so many other people commenting on this model have complained about. But then we bought a tripod right away and always use the tripod anyway. I find the tripod makes it much steadier, even tho it isn't cheap. I do find myself that the focus knob sometimes is hard to reach when the telescope is in certain positions but my son has no problem with it because he has smaller fingers. Anyway, I think it's a great telescope for those of us who are just starting out and don't want to lug around those big monster ones that we've seen at astromonical society nites. They're nice but way too expensive for us and way to big to hassle with. Perhaps if we win the lottery, we'll be able to get a bigger one someday! I certainly plan to get him somewhat bigger ones in the future when we learn about operating this one better but even a 6 grand Meade that we saw at an observing nite was way out of our range. Obviously, this telescope is way, way better than those cheapies that are sold in the discount stores. We like it!

Overall Rating: 9
Weight: 1 (Unreliable Vote)
Date:
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Link to this vote: http://www.excelsis.com/1.0/displayvote.php?voteid=38980

Meade ETX-90EC
I have been involved in astronomy for 21 years and have owned several scopes and my expectations for the ETX 90 EC were more than met by the scope I bought in July of 99'. The ETX is a wonderful product that I'm sure will bring astronomy to thousands who would never have ventured into the hobby otherwise. To get a scope that rivals the legendary optics of the Questar ,and has a workable goto function for the price is nothing short of a dream we all had just a few years ago. I live in fairly light polluted skies and have seen images that rival those of my larger scopes. For portability the ETX cant be beat if you understand its limitations you will undoutably get a lifetime of use from it.

Overall Rating: 9
Weight: 1 (Unreliable Vote)
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Link to this vote: http://www.excelsis.com/1.0/displayvote.php?voteid=38982

Meade ETX-90EC
I just received this scope about a week ago so I have limited experience with it. However, I am very impressed so far. First of all the scope is extremely easy to set-up and use. Within 20 minutes I was viewing the rings of Saturn and cloud bands on Jupiter. The planets were very clear and crisp, however using the standard 26mm eyepiece they are small in the field of view. I plan on getting a barlow very soon! The mount is very sturdy, provided that you place the scope on the ground or on a heavy table. I am also getting a hard case for the scope, since it is so portable I plan on taking it camping with me. Moving the scope around the sky can be noisey, but personally it doesn't bother me. The only complaint so far would probably be the viewfinder, it is fairly akward to use. However it is fully capable in locating objects, it just tends to give me a stiff neck. I plan on upgrading to a 45 degree finder ASAP. My next celestial target is the Orion nebula! Happy viewing!

Overall Rating: 9
Weight: 1 (Unreliable Vote)
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Link to this vote: http://www.excelsis.com/1.0/displayvote.php?voteid=38983

Meade ETX-90EC
I got a Meade ETX-90M at Sam's Club for $350. No autostar ability, but the mount has a metal plate in the bottom, so I drilled a 20-1/4 hole in my deck column for a pier. I spent only what I needed (no motors), but will get the flexifocus and the 90 degree finder (a must). Use the old straightie as a monocular, or for a backup. Scope works great for the price, but I bought only optics, no baubles. I live in dark skies, so it will be fun to see if I pick up any NGCs. Also use the scope to look for elk, avalanches, etc. from the backyard. Good luck to everyone, and thanks for Sam's Club!

Overall Rating: No Vote
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Meade ETX-90EC
Works as advertised; either in the backyard with my 5 yr old or in the parking lot after a game of hockey. I considered trading up to the 125; but it's not worth the loss in portability.

Needs Autostar and right angle veiwfinder to be more usable.

Overall Rating: 8
Weight: 1 (Unreliable Vote)
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Link to this vote: http://www.excelsis.com/1.0/displayvote.php?voteid=38987

Meade ETX-90EC
Great scope!

Sold my 6" f/5 Newtonian scope (it feelt to big and complex) and bought the ETX with the Autostar. Its great fun to use!
The first objects that I observed was M42 (great in this scope!), Jupiter, Saturn, Moon and the dubblestar in Ursa Major. The sharpness and contrast beats the Newtonian by far.
For the things I will use it for (planets, stars, sun, moon, Global/Open Clusters) its perfect. If I get interested to look at fuzzy galaxies and nebulas, then I'll buy a bigger (>8") scope. But for now the ETX is all that I need.

Have read that many people complain that the ETX motordrive sounds to loud.. but I can't really understand why. Sure it sounds a little, but not so its to disturbing. Compared to the LX200, its quiet. But before you buy the scope you maby want to listen to it, It may sound to loud for you're ears.

+ Great optics
+ Autostar
+ motordriven
+ Portable
+ looks great

- plastic
- finder
(- expensive if you're living outside America)

I would recommend this scope to anyone who's hunting for a new scope! Have fun!

Overall Rating: 9
Weight: 1 (Unreliable Vote)
Date:
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Link to this vote: http://www.excelsis.com/1.0/displayvote.php?voteid=38990

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